“1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
I can’t speak for you but verses 1 and 2 are relatively easy for me to accept. Who doesn’t enjoy the promise of blessings of peace and the grace of God. It’s verses 3 through 5 that are more difficult to understand let alone embrace as a blessing.
During my life I have experienced bouts of depression and in dealing with that I’ve wrestled with God at various times over several parts of scripture. One part of scripture I struggled was the whole of Romans 9. The message I took from Romans 9 was that He is sovereign and I am not so I need to accept His will (or risk being miserable). Another part of scripture was Romans 5:3-5. In working through these verses (along with others) I ran across a couple of books about Christian growth that along with the Holy Spirit helped me embrace the verses instead of just accepting them as God’s word.
The first was Paul Billheimer’s “Don’t Waste Your Sorrows.” He discussed the need / blessings of our sufferings. The short version is that when the new heaven and earth come this corrupted world will be gone and replaced with a perfect dwelling place. Without a corrupted world and corrupted body there will not be an opportunity for us to grow in faith. God doesn’t desire suffering but since the fall he’s provided a way of reconciliation through Jesus Christ and a way to maturity through trust in Jesus Christ. I believe this is a great way of looking at this world. Don’t waste your sorrows; use them as an opportunity to trust in Christ and rest in Him.
The second was an older book by Hannah Hurnurd called “Hinds Feet on High Places.” It’s an allegory of life and Christian growth. The message was similar to the first in that as Christians we grow in faith as we live a life walked moment by moment in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Life may appear to be a sequence of challenges but in reality are opportunities to grow in faith and become closer to Jesus Christ (His desire for us all) if we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us. This Lenten season is a great time to be reminded that our creator loves us and desires a personal relationship with us.
Your Brother in Christ,
Dave
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